Analyst fears JDT's Asian quest could affect national team

New Straits Times

19 hours ago

SUPER League giants Johor Darul Ta'zim's (JDT) pursuit of Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) glory could come at a cost to the national team.
This is the view of football analyst Dr Zulakbal Abdul Karim, who holds an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Professional Coaching Diploma.
The Southern Tigers have added foreign-based national players Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel to their squad for the 2025–2026 season.
JDT already boast a strong core of national players including Syihan Hazmi, Matthew Davies, La'Vere Corbin-Ong, Shahrul Saad, Afiq Fazail, Nazmi Faiz Mansor, Arif Aiman Hanapi, as well as naturalised players Mohamadou Sumareh and Romel Morales.
Zulakbal believes JDT's determination to succeed at Asia's highest level is pushing them to reinforce every area of their squad.
"JDT are clearly dominant in the M-League due to their squad depth and structure, but the ACLE is a different ball game," said Zulakbal.
"The ACLE has become JDT's main target. They've been investing heavily for several seasons now, but haven't made it past the second round.
"We've seen them bring in big name foreign players, and with national and naturalised players, they've built a strong side — but the breakthrough still hasn't come.
"Now, by bringing in foreign-based national players, they're trying to raise the bar even higher. There's nothing wrong with ambition — in fact, it's a positive sign. We should commend JDT for having this winning mindset."
However, Zulakbal also warned that the move could affect the national team in the long run.
He pointed out that foreign-based players like Irazabal and Hevel demonstrated a high-level of play during Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in an Asian Cup qualifier earlier this month.
"We want our foreign-based national players to continue playing abroad because they benefit from greater intensity and competitiveness, which sharpens them for international duty," he said.
"Against Vietnam, we saw their quality and composure.
"If they return to play in the M-League, which lacks the same level of competition, there's a risk they'll become blunt — and that will impact the national team's overall quality.